Payton Tolle made an emotional start on Mother’s Day, honoring his late mom, Jina, who died two years prior, at just 48, due to cancer.
Tolle will get the ball against the Mariners on Father’s Day. He shares a close bond with his father, Chad.
“My first time pitching in Triple-A, he was there, and then obviously with the (major league) debut, he was there, too,” Payton told MLB.com. “Like if he could find a flight, and I called him right now, he would be here tonight. He’s always ready to be there for me.”
Tolle recalled when his dad once drove five hours from the family home in Oklahoma to Kansas City just to spend 15 minutes with his son, who wasn’t even pitching in a series against the Royals.
“Yeah, it was pretty special. I just couldn’t thank him enough,” Tolle said.
Payton said Chad’s mother died when Chad was a teenager, so Chad understands what his sons are going through.
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“It was definitely a really hard experience for all of us,” Payton told MLB.com. “We were all going through it together. It was difficult, but we had each other.”
Tolle will look to help the Sox sweep the Mariners in Seattle.
Here’s the preview.
RED SOX (31-43): Seigler 2B, Rafaela CF, Gasper DH, Contreras 1B, Duran LF, Durbin 3B, Mayer SS, Wong C, Eaton RF
Pitching: LHP Payton Tolle (3-4, 2.93 ERA)
MARINERS (39-39): Crawford SS, Raleigh C, Rodriguez CF, Naylor 1B, Refsnyder DH, Canzone RF, Robles LF, We. Wilson 3B, Young 2B
Pitching: RHP Logan Gilbert (5-4, 3.43 ERA)
Time: 4:10 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Gilbert: Wilyer Abreu 1-5, Willson Contreras 0-2, Jarren Duran 3-10, Caleb Durbin 0-2, Nate Eaton 0-2, Marcelo Mayer 0-2, Carlos Narváez 0-2, Ceddanne Rafaela 3-6, Anthony Seigler 0-2, Connor Wong 3-4, Masataka Yoshida 2-8
Mariners vs. Tolle: Has not faced any Seattle batters
Stat of the day: Logan Gilbert is 0-2 with a 4.81 ERA in six career starts against Boston.
Notes: Fellow Red Sox lefthanders Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early combined with relievers to throw two-hitters in each of the first two games of the series. … The Mariners are 10-13 in games started by lefties. … Of the five right-handed hitters Seattle started Saturday, only Julio Rodriguez has a batting average better than .189. … Tolle, who has lost his last two starts, will face the Mariners for the first time in his career.
Cam Kerry can be reached at [email protected].
